/ˈmæŋki/

From a concerned citizen, we learn a new bit of slang with the intensifier derived ultimately from the Latin mancus, which also lends us maimed, mutilated and mangled that signals something unpleasant, dirty or disgusting.
The bigger story of course behind this errant graffiti tag in a park in Edinburgh besides the etymology is that the swan is somehow taking it as a personal affront and wants to shield his cygnets (the article goes on to identify the father, a cob—the name of an adult male from the Middle English word cobbe for group leader, whereas an adult female is called a pen, as their plumage made the best quills and hence the writing implement) from such language. Across the Atlantic, the similar-sounding janky refers to poor quality or unreliable objects and has an unknown origin—perhaps from junky.

an absurd and immature antic

With an albeit split but precedent-setting decision issued on this day in 1971, the Supreme Court of the United States of America overturned the charges of lower jurisdictions and absolved the defendant of the crime of disturbing the peace by his choice of attire while in the corridors of the Los Angeles Courthouse.   Three years prior, the then nineteen year old defendant, Paul Robert Cohen, was arrested for wearing a jacket that bore the words F*ck the Draft (see also here and here) when called to a hearing—Cohen removed the offending article when entering the courtroom and taking the stand, however.
The bailiff communicated this to the judge, whom had Cohen taken into custody after his testimony and arraigned. Arguing that his behaviour was provocative and calculated to shock by announcing his views on the war in Vietnam, the county court ruled that his wardrobe choice was below the minimum threshold of civility and not suitable for public view. The case was elevated and the California Supreme Court concluded that neither itself or the lower courts were competent to determine what language was suitable for public consumption without overstepping their powers and trouncing on rights of free speech and referred the matter to the national high court to decide. Despite the chief justice instructing his associates that it would not be necessary to “dwell on the facts”—in effect, an order to censor the wording on the jacket, which was immediately ignored, and the dissenting argument characterising the provocation as the above and thus not a form of protected speech, the case was ruled in favour of Cohen, enshrining the right to express such sentiments and to not have them silenced and suppressed prima facie.

7x7

hello, little friends: Ryoji Akiyama transversed China in 1981 and 1982 capturing images of young people in a rapidly changing country

a class divided: a powerful, pivotal lesson in discrimination revisited

the plot to overthrow america: a round-up of fear-mongering ploys baited by Trump’s declaring an acronym a terrorist group, plus a case of deicide

simrefinery: Chevron commissioned the makers of SimCity to make a training programme for workers at their petroleum plants back in 1992

little green men: investigating the anonymous, unaccountable army policing Washington, DC—via Pluralistic

subjective cityscapes: Natalie Christensen focuses her lens on the intersection of architecture and automobiles in the US Southwest—via Plain Magazine

heavenly palace: more details surface regarding China’s space station, with construction beginning next year

tpv-15

Though this image is just about three years old, one of the parting shots of the Cassini probe before it descended into the atmosphere of Saturn, we appreciated the reminder, a sense of proportion that’s much needed right now, from Strange Company of the Earth and the Moon framed by the Encke Gap of the gas giant’s rings—see previously—and for couching it in the POV of the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy’s Total Perspective Vortex, a device (see also) originally built as a heuristic tool to demonstrate causality by extrapolating a model of the Cosmos from a single atom.
In application, however, exposing the mind to such a humbling vision of reality was overwhelming and the technology was mainly useful as an instrument of torture—execution, that is, with a final moment of clarity and transcendence. The only biological brain subjected to the Vortex to survive unscathed, protagonist Zaphod Beeblebrox, was only able to do so through the protective bunker of a computer-generated universe that was created specifically to shield him, and with the confidence, hubris that he in fact was the most important person in his paracosm was able to get through the ordeal with minimal amount of insight to put him in his place.

mug shot

Via Colossal, we are treated to the hundred-day challenge and rather incredible achievement of potter Lalese (Lolly) Stamps with her project exploring variations on the design of handles on coffee cups with all manners of rings, knobs, grips and treads. See more examples of tool and ornament at the links above.

jetway 707

Having a cameo in no less than All the President’s Men featuring Dustin Hoffman as Carl Bernstein and clocking in at an impressive eight-and-a-half metre length, via Things Magazine, we’re pleased to be acquainted with the wonderfully outlandish airport stretch limousine (produced from 1968 to 1970) from Oldsmobile and its subsidiary American Quality Coach designed to shuttle VIPs (seating twelve to fifteen) and their luggage from the terminal to the tarmac (see previously). Much more to explore at the links above.

the bold knight, the apples of youth and the water of life

Compelled amidst the confusion, conspiracy and urban legends to find and give voice to the archetypal and shared experiences, storyteller and graphic artist Maria Fedorova is soliciting lived anecdotes from life under lockdown to recast in the tradition of Russian folktales, the definitive collected and classified anthology explicitly modeled off of Grimm’s Fairy Stories. The first evening’s entertainment in this modern-day Decameron relates the dilemma of a woman wanting to rescue her neighbour stuck in her apartment building’s lift but is also terrified at the prospect of have to come within too close proximity with others during her intervention. Much more to explore at the links above.

no time for this kind of love—no flag waving high above

Via Nag on the Lake, we are treated to a roiling new release from Elvis Costello, recorded in February in Helsinki where the artist wanted to sample the sounds of anonymity sure that no one would recognise him but perhaps the Finns are too polite to make a big fuss over someone wanted to remain incognito, but shared now with this lyric video as it spoke to the times and current angst and anxiety. After playing with Sheryl Crow and friends to benefit the Musicians’ Emergency Fund charity, Costello will join Rosanne Cash next week Live with Carnegie to perform songs of protest and memory.